Feed-regulator.



C. D. SCOTT. FEED REGULATOR. APPLICATION FILED AUG. 16, 1911.

Patented Mar. 10, 19M

3 SHEBTBSEEET 1.

C. D. SCOTT.

FEED REGULATOR.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.16, 1911 1,090,1 20. Patented Mar. 10, 191

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

C. D. SCOTT. FEED REGULATOR. APPLICATION FILED AUG. 16, 1911.

1,090,120. Patented Mar. 10, 1914.

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1.; 13 W I II 17 IIIIII UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES I). SCOTT, OF TOPEKA, KANSAS, ASSIGNOR TO PERCY E. GINN, OF WINCHESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

FEED-REGULATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 10, 1914..

Application filed August 16, 1911. Serial No. 644,300.

To all whom it may concern: r

Be it known that I, CHARLES D. Soon, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of Topeka, in the county of Shawnee and State of Kansas, have invented new and useful Improvements in Feed-Regulw tors, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to mechanical devices for feeding materials from a bin or storage reservoir at a uniform rate for various purposes, as, for instance, feeding the material into an automatic weighing machine.

It relates especially to feed regulators for feeding powdered, pulverized, granulated, or otherwise reduced-substances of cohesive nature.

It is the object of my invention to efi'ecta uniform feed of such substances as well as other powdered, pulverized, or granulated,

or floury substances, especially from a binv or reservoir from which the material flows by the force of gravity into and through my mechanical feeding device; and while it is designed especially to overcome the clogging effect of the co-hesive nature of such materials, it is as well useful for substances notof such nature. And my invention comprises a chute with a studded feeding cylinder therein with mechanism for imparting to the wall of the chute above the cylinder a vibratory motion, such vibratory motion being confined preferably to one or two side walls, and not extending to the entire mechanism so as to rack the entire frame; and it further consists of the parts,

improvements, and combinations hereinafter set forth and claimed.

In the drawings accompanying and forming part of this specification and in the descriptiontof the drawings, I have shown my invention in its preferred form, and have shown what I deem to be the best mode of applying the principles thereof; but it is to be understood. that my invention is not confined to the exact details of the drawings, and that I contemplate changes in form, proportions, and materials, the transposition of parts, and the substitutionof equivalent members, within the scope of, the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of my lnvention.

Figure 1- is a vertical central sectional elevation of a machine made in accordance with the principles of my invention. Fig. 2 is a front elevation thereof, a corner of one of the front plates being broken away to disclose the interior, and a part of the side be- 1n g shown in section through the line 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of certain parts mounted on the cylinder shaft and comprising a manually operable clutch for connecting the mechanism wlth and disconnecting it from the drive wheel. Fig. 4 is a plan view of the same parts in their positions when the clutch is shifted into operative position, part of the wheel being shown in section. Fig. 5 is a plan view of the complete machine, except that the upper part of the chute is shown in section through the line 5 of Figs. 1 and 2.

Similar reference characters indicate like or corresponding parts throughout ,the several views.

6 is a chute leading down from a suitable bin or storage reservoir and having one of its sides made of material that can be vibrated, as sheet metal, as shown at 7.

8 is a casting forming part of the frame and also forming certain shaft bearings as will hereinafter be explained. Below this casting extend the sides 9, 9, on the outsides of which are two bearing brackets 11, 11 supporting the shaft 13 on which is keyed the feed cylinder 14 whose outer face is studded, as shown at 15.

16 is a drive wheel mounted loosely on the shaft 13, and 17 is a' collar secured to the shaft outside the wheel, while 18 is a compression spring bearing between the wheel and the collar, and by means of which the inner end of the hub 19 of the wheel is pressed against a collar 21. which is mounted loosely on the shaft, and provided with a handle 24.- and a wedge or cam face 22 which engages in a corresponding notch 23 in the hearing or boss 20 of the adjacent bracket 11. Normally the drive wheel turns idly on the shaft; but by turning the collar 21 so as to disengage the wedge from the notch, the wheel is pressed over toward the collar 17. Collar 17 has an arm 27 which normally is disengaged from the lug 28 on the wheel; but on shifting the wheel toward the collar 17 as just described, the lug enga es the arm and causes the shaft to turn with the wheel.

26 and provided with a lock-nut 31.

is a front sheet metal plate of at least some degree of springiness and-is bent inwardly toward'the cylinder, having in its lower end a series of notches 26, 26 corresponding with the rows of studs 15 on the cylinder, so as to form a comb which when pressed against thecylinder scrapes the sides of the cylinder, leavingv clearance for the studs. I

29 is a bracket extending across the front of the machine, and 30 is a screw threaded therethrough and bearing against the comb 32 is a screw also threaded through the bracket and also bearing against the comb-plate,

33 is another comb-plate secured to the lower end of the rear plate 7 which extends, as shown, down to the cylinder. This plate is provided with slots 35 by which it is adjustably secured to the sides of the frame by means of the screws 34. The sides are recessed, as shown at 36 so as to overlap the cylinder along the top.

38 is another comb-like scraper located at the lower part of the cylinder and vertically adjustable by means of the slot 40 and screws 39, so as to take up the wear, and for other purposes.

41 is a plate forming part of the inclosing frame. 42 is a slide working in cleats 43 for closing up the back of the frame; and 4A is the outlet chute. The wheel imparts to the shaft a rotary motion in the direction of the arrow, so that the studded cylinder positively feeds the material between the cylinder and the plate 26. This feed may be regulated, so as to adjust the machine to any particular material, by the screw 30, the screw being set by lock-nut 31. On stopping the feeding, screw 32 is used to press the plate against the cylinder soas t prevent the'material from falling through? Tostart the machine again for the same material, it isnecessary only to unscrew the screw '32 until the plate comes against the screw 30 which is maintained in I to the same position. This arrangement permits the machine to be stopped and started without changing the adjustment of the feeding "device. Fromthe plate 26 the material falls down through the chute 44;

whatever sticks to .the cylinder is scraped off,

by the comb-like scraper 38.

45 is a studded, tpothed, orratchetwheel mounted on the shaft 13, and so arranged that the teeth are engagedby an arm or pawl 46 secured to the shaft 47 mounted in the bearing lugs 49 of the casting 8, and held in place therein by the collar 48 and sprin'g5 50 is an arm or .tapper secured to the shaft and preferably having a facing of leather 51 which bears against the front plate 25, the spring pressing the tapper.

against said plate. Obviously, on the turn-- ing of the shaft 13 and ratchet wheel 45, the

clogging at this point will be impossible.

52 is a shaft arranged at the rear of said casting and carries a tapper 53 and an arm 54, said arm 54 extending down in the path of the arm 27. A spring 56 tends to force the said tapper against the side of the inlet chute or hopper, and the operation of the I arm 27 against the arm 54 forces the tapper backward, from which it will be understood that with each rotation of the shaft 13 the tapper 53 will strike against the side of the hopper once. To take up the wear, I provide a reinforcing plate 57 where the tapper strikes against the rear plate 7. This slower tapping suflices to keep the material in the upper part of the hopper from clogging or getting "lumpy, it being understood that there is less chance of clogging where the passage is wide than where it is narrow, as

adjacent to the cylinder where the rate of.

feeding is finally regulated.

What I claim is:

1. In a machine of the kind described, the combination of a chute having a vibratory wall, a studded feeding cylinder mounted in the chute, a shaft on which said cylinder is mounted, another shaft mounted on the chute, a tapper secured to'said second-named shaft, a spring forcing said tapper against said vibratory wall and an arm secured to the same shaft, and a ratchet secured to the first-named shaft and engaged by the arm so' that said ratchet and spring co-act to cause the tapper to strike the vibratory wall.

2. In a machine of the kind described,

the combination of a chute having rigid side walls, a vibratory frontwall terminating in a comb-like plate, and a removable rear ,wall, with a shaft mounted in and between the said side walls, a cylinder secured to the shaft and havingstuds on its surface, said cylinder being arranged adjacent to said plate, a means for adjusting said-plate with reference tothe cylinder to increase or diminish the space therebetween, a second comb-like plate extending between the side walls and adapted to scrape against the cyl inder and being vertically adjustable on said side walls and located under said first-named plate, a hopper arranged above said chute and having a rear wall extending down to and terminating in a comb-like plate on the upper rear part of the cylinder, a tapper adapted to strike against said vibratory take we x

hopper wall, a ratchet on the shaft adapted to operate the tapper, and a driving mechanism for said shaft.

3. In a machine of the kind described, the combination of a chute having rigid side Walls and a vibratory front Wall, a studded feeding cylinder mounted between the side Walls, a comb-like plate adjacent to the cylinder and forming a continuation of said front wall, an adjusting screw for adjusting said plate with reference to the cylinder, means for locking said screw in adjusted position, means for pressing said plate against the cylinder 'without changing the adjustment of the said screw, a means for vibrating said front Wall, and a driving mechanism. for said cylinder and said vibrating means.

4:.In a machine of the kind described, the combination of a hopper, a chute leading from the bottom of the hopper, a studded feeding cylinder mounted in said chute, said chute and hopper each having rigid and one vibratory side Walls, a tappcr for each of said vibratory walls, operating mechanism for rapidly operating the tapper for the chute and'for slowly operating the tapper' for the hopper, and means for driving the cylinder and said operating mechanism.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of witnesses.

CHARLES D. SCOTT. Witnesses J. M. STARK, J. A. HULIT. 

